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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/25034998">your mind is playing tricks on you, my dear</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account'>orphan_account</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Little Talks [4]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) - All Media Types</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alpha Cody, Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Angst with a Happy Ending, Beta Anakin, Cody is the best bean, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Rape/Non-con, M/M, Omega Rex, Panic Attacks, Rex isn't your typical Omega, he's doing his best, they all are, we're at it again</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-07-02</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-08-25</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-04 08:48:38</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>4</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>8,935</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/25034998</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Four moments defined who Rex was. As a person, and an Omega. </p><p>Cody was there for all of them.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>CC-2224 | Cody/CT-7567 | Rex, CT-7567 | Rex &amp; Anakin Skywalker</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Little Talks [4]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1705579</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>59</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>158</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Chapter 1</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>I blame starkiller2187 for this. I didn't think I'd be back to this series, but her fic <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/24208615/chapters/58317529">collide</a> keeps bringing it out in me. </p><p> </p><p>This chapter takes place directly after the first scene in <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/23685187">'it's killing me to see you this way'</a>.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Rex forced his steps to be steady as he approached the two visiting admirals in the hanger, nodding at Yularen who was talking nearby to another Captain.</p><p> </p><p>He’d been out of the medbay for just under two cycles after the hell that had been his first heat not on suppressors. He didn’t remember much, but his throat felt raw and his muscles ached. Between that and the haunted looks Kix kept giving him, he knew it hadn’t been a good few days.</p><p> </p><p>Even so, he was fit for duty now, if not a little weak and shaky, and he’d checked himself out of the medbay as soon as Kix had his back turned.</p><p> </p><p>There would probably be hell to pay for that. But he hadn’t spent two years on those godforsaken suppressants to have to deal with ulcers for the rest of his life for no reason. Still, he would gladly risk never eating anything spicier than a plan piece of instabread ever again if it meant his heart would stop pounding under his chest plate every time an alpha turned to vaguely face in his direction.</p><p> </p><p>Kix had put him under penalty of death if he found out he was taking suppressants again, and had already marked on his calendar when to expect Rex’s next heat, so it was out of the question even if Rex wanted to risk his wrath.</p><p> </p><p>So instead Rex got to be acutely aware, more or less for the first time, of the sweet scent of Omega that swirled around him as he walked. He saw <em>vode</em> and natborns alike sniff the air with interest after he passed and give him surprised or interested looks. He felt everyone’s eyes on him and was thankful for his bucket, even if he knew it did nothing to shield his scent from betraying his every strong emotion.</p><p> </p><p>But he was a Captain. For as much as he wanted to curl up in his bunk (he'd found his instincts were harder to resist now than they had been on suppressors and had given in and requisitioned a single additional pillow after two sleepless nights with his back pressed into the wall staring at his hopelessly indefensible mattress) he would not allow himself the luxury. There was a war on and he had his duty.</p><p> </p><p>“Admirals,” Rex announced his presence to the two COs of the Cruisers the <em>Resolute</em> had rendezvoused with during the previous cycle. He held out a pad to the nearer one, a stocky man with light hair and lighter eyes. “The reports from the Mid rim.”</p><p> </p><p>“Ah,” The man nodded and took the pad, only to stop suddenly and tilt his head, nostrils flaring.</p><p> </p><p>Rex stiffened.</p><p> </p><p>The other Admiral was a tall man with dark hair and a thin, sharp nose. He was not nearly as subtle at identifying the scent of Omega on the air.</p><p> </p><p>“An Omega Clone Captain?” The tall admiral said, a smile on his face as if the idea was especially ridiculous. “Who ever heard of such a thing?”</p><p> </p><p>“I didn’t even know there were Omega clones.” The first admiral added, smiling at Rex and taking another step closer. “My, you are sweet.”</p><p> </p><p>Rex swallowed and tightened his right hand around his left wrist behind his back until he could almost feel the bones scraping against one another.</p><p> </p><p>“Sir, I-”</p><p> </p><p>“You’re right Arka, he is. Tell me Omega, are you coming out of a heat or heading into one?”</p><p> </p><p>Rex cursed the Kaminoan programming that seemed to make it impossible for him to lie convincingly to a superior officer. He kept his mouth closed for a few seconds, fighting not to gag on the overpowering scent of aroused Alpha suddenly flooding the air around him as both men moved into his personal space. “Out. Sir.”</p><p> </p><p>The admiral tsk’d. “Pity.”</p><p> </p><p>Rex forced his feet to stand still when a small but very insistent voice inside of him started screaming to <em>fight</em> or <em>run</em> and <em>where was his alpha? </em></p><p> </p><p>“Is everything alright over here, gentlemen?”</p><p> </p><p>Rex had never been so happy to hear the sound of his General’s voice. He twitched, feeling Anakin come to stand close at his left elbow, then relaxed marginally, leaning toward the tall, young Beta without really realizing it.</p><p> </p><p>“Of course General,” The stocky Admiral smiled, taking a small step back. “Just reviewing the report your lovely Captain brought us.”</p><p> </p><p>“Last I checked you didn’t need to stand that close to review a report.” Anakin growled, none of the false friendliness in his tone that had colored the other man's.</p><p> </p><p>Rex’s ears were on fire, his head swimming and pounding as he scrambled for his footing in the wake of the Admirals' attentions. He’d barely finished his first heat (he didn’t count the one in the separatist pow prison. He didn’t <em>think</em> about that one) and he was barely standing on solid ground again. He didn’t know how to interact with the world as an Omega. Was he still capable of command? Was he a liability on the battlefield? Or was he doomed to spend the rest of his life on the bridge of a ship enduring long looks from Alphas who thought he couldn’t see him sniffing the air around him?</p><p> </p><p>No. He was a Captain in the Grand Army of the Republic and he was just going to have find a way to <em>get used to this.</em></p><p> </p><p>“Rex?”</p><p> </p><p>He jumped at the pressure on his shoulder and practically flung himself out of Anakin’s reach. Realizing he'd completely lost track of time and place, he saw the other men were gone and Anakin was watching him with a look on his face that said he’d said his name more than once.</p><p> </p><p>“I’m sorry about them, are you alright?” Anakin watched his friend as his bucket swung back and forth to survey the surroundings, his distress bleeding into the air and into the Force made him want to reach out again. He pulled his hands behind his back to keep from doing so, the way Rex had jerked away from him told him the man wouldn't appreciate it.</p><p>When Kix had briefed him on Rex’s status after his Captain disappeared rather suddenly from the Bacta tank, he’d had a hard time believing it.</p><p> </p><p>he found he didn’t anymore.</p><p> </p><p>“Excuse me, sir.” Rex said, his voice barely loud enough to be picked up by the vocoder. He did an about face and made his way out of the hanger at a pace that gained a few curious glances from troopers coming to attention as he passed, wondering if there was an emergency they had missed. They were waved off quickly by their General, following a few steps behind the Captain.</p><p> </p><p>Rex ducked into the first storage closet he came to and ripped off his bucket, gasping for air. Never in his life had he been claustrophobic. Rather, he’d always found small spaces sort of comforting, like the tubes on Kamino. But in this moment he felt as if he’d suffocate to death if he didn’t get out of his armor<em>.</em></p><p> </p><p>His fingers shook and he fumbled with the buckles on his gauntlets and vambraces.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> His vision tunneled and sound muffled until it was just a buzz in the background. If he could just get the karking things off maybe he could  <em>breathe</em>. </span></p><p> </p><p>Rex jumped again when hands clasped his shoulders and dark brown tabards and a black chest plate came into view. His General. Something in Rex relaxed just marginally. He was safe with his General. A hand under his chin tilted his face up and Rex saw Anakin’s eyes wide, searching him, his lips moving but Rex had no idea what they were saying.</p><p> </p><p>Anakin moved his mech hand to rest over Rex’s where he was tugging uselessly at his chest plate, stilling the movement and Rex felt himself make a noise in his throat. Why was his General trying to suffocate him?</p><p> </p><p>His throat felt tight, so tight, and he didn't understand the pain that was radiating out of from lungs, up his spine and around his head and throat. Was he injured? If he was did that mean his General was too?</p><p> </p><p>Rex reached out suddenly with shaking hands, trying to check Anakin for injuries but his hands were caught and held still, pressed to the Jedi’s chest. Anakin was taking deep, exaggerated breaths and Rex frowned, looking up into his face.</p><p> </p><p>His general’s lips were still moving but Rex couldn’t hear him speaking. Why was everything so <em>loud</em> and so <em>heavy</em>?</p><p> </p><p>HIs hands were thumped against the General’s chest and Rex looked back at up him. He didn’t remember looking away.</p><p> </p><p>Anakin held his hands to his chest with one hand and reached out again with the other, touching the back of Rex’s neck, raising his eyebrows.</p><p> </p><p>“Rex, breathe, please.” Anakin said again, struggling to breath himself as he took exaggerated breaths to lead the Captain. “Breathe, just breathe.”</p><p> </p><p>Rex still didn’t seem to understand and his eyes grew wider with panic.</p><p> </p><p>“C'mon Rex,” Anakin hunched forward, feeling helpless as Rex’s gasps became more like wheezes, his panic sparking sharp and painful into the Force. He wished in that moment that he were in Alpha so he could push comforting pheromones into the air along with what he was attempting to curl around them in the Force. He pulled Rex forward until their foreheads pressed against one another, Rex’s slid against his own with a sheen of sweat. “Please just breathe.”</p><p> </p><p>Finally, <em>finally</em>, Rex gasped, the breath he drew in sounding painful and deep. Anakin almost sank to his knees with relief.</p><p> </p><p>“Yeah. Yes, that’s it,” He said, surprised when his voice came out thick and wet. “Good job. Do it again. Like this.” Anakin kept Rex’s hands pressed to his chest as he took another deep breath, immensely gratified when the Captain began to follow.</p><p> </p><p>“Good, good.” Anakin kept up the mantra until Rex’s breathing was nearly back to normal. He sighed, the tang of distress dissipated in the air and Rex’s scent mellowed again. He still didn’t pull his forehead away, instead releasing Rex’s hands and bringing his up to cup the sides of the Captain’s neck. “You with me?”</p><p> </p><p>Rex’s forehead slid against his own when he nodded.</p><p> </p><p>“Yeah,” He swallowed. “Sorry. I seem to have blanked out on you there.”</p><p> </p><p>“It’s okay.” Anakin smiled. “I’m just glad you’re back.”</p><p> </p><p>A voice cleared behind them and Anakin turned slightly, unconsciously pushing Rex behind him a bit, earning an annoyed spike in the Force.</p><p> </p><p>On seeing who it was, the young Jedi straightened. “Oh. Um. Hi.” he said, eloquently.</p><p> </p><p>Rex come to stand beside him.</p><p> </p><p>“Commander Cody.” Anakin marveled at the way Rex could be on the razor edge of a breakdown but sound like he was giving his morning status update.</p><p> </p><p>The Commander had his bucket on his hip but his face was such a mask of stone he may as well have been wearing it. His Force signature was being carefully guarded by formidable shields so Anakin made himself stand still, trying to be ready for anything that was about to happen.</p><p> </p><p>“I didn’t, um…” He started when Cody came to stand right in front of him. “It’s not what it looks like…”</p><p> </p><p>Anakin was cut off by Cody grabbing his shoulders and pulling him forward until his forehead thudded softly against his head.</p><p> </p><p>“Thank you.” He said after a moment, before stepping back to restore the General’s personal space.</p><p> </p><p>Anakin made some noise that was like an acknowledgment and straightened his tabards needlessly.</p><p> </p><p>“I’ll leave you two alone.” He turned to Rex and laid a hand on his shoulder briefly before stepping away and leaving the storage room.</p><p> </p><p>The door closed behind the General and the room suddenly seemed much smaller.</p><p> </p><p>“Kix told me to come find you.”Cody said quietly, standing close. He brought a hand up to lay it over where Rex’s unscarred scent gland sat just under the top of his blacks. “I guess now I know why.”</p><p> </p><p>“Cody,” Rex said, voice rough and worn through, “It’s been a long day. If you want to end things just say it. Please. I’m tired.”</p><p> </p><p>Rex was staring at his chest plate, so he didn’t see the look of hurt and fear that flickered across the Alpha’s face.</p><p> </p><p>“End things.” He repeated, quietly, something like disbelief in his voice.</p><p> </p><p>Rex nodded, forcing himself to take a deep breath. “I’m not…not what you thought I was. I can understand if…”</p><p> </p><p>Cody cut him off with a quick, soft kiss, but made himself pull back when the other man stiffened.</p><p> </p><p>“Rex. No. We’re…you’re mine. That hasn’t changed.”</p><p> </p><p>Rex’s eyes snapped up and he jerked out of Cody’s arms. “I don’t belong to you.”</p><p> </p><p>Cody’s frown shifted to confusion. “What? Rex I only meant…”</p><p> </p><p>“Don’t pull Alpha banthashit on me. I am not <em>your</em> Omega. I’m not gonna sit pretty and make you lots of babies, you understand? If thats what you think then walk away right now. I am a <em>Captain</em>. Being an Omega has nothing to do with my duty and it changes <em>nothing</em> about who I am. I don’t need an Alpha. Not even you.”</p><p> </p><p>Cody swallowed hard and in spite of himself he was thankful for Rex’s status in that moment. Without it, Cody never would have known from the heat in his eyes and the flint sharp edge in his tone that Rex was feeling anything other than anger and resentment, and his words would have cut Cody to the quick. He might have said something he regretted.</p><p> </p><p>As it was, without his suppressors, Rex advertised easily everything he didn’t want Cody to know. The fear rang out, sharp in the air, sour of unease and confusion. Cody tightly gripped the overwhelming urge he had to pull Rex to his chest and comfort him and instead watched as the other slowly backed up until his back was pressed to the wall.</p><p> </p><p>“Easy Rex,” Cody said slowly, he took a step back give him more space and was satisfied when some of the fight drained out of his shoulders. “Why don’t we go to your quarters and discuss this, okay?”</p><p>
  
</p><p>It took a moment but Rex finally nodded, turning to lead the way out of the storage closet and toward the barracks.</p><p> </p><p>Cody followed, half a step behind, thankful for his bucket that hid his expression, so he could focus on trying to control his scent instead, not wanting <em>PossesiveAlpha</em> to reach him and set Rex off again. And that would take some getting used to too, he’d never had to be careful about his scent before. A primal part of him wanted to project it, let all the alphas in the area know 'yes, there is an Omega nearby but no, he is not for you'. But Rex was flighty as it was and Cody wouldn’t make it worse for him.</p><p> </p><p>He wasn’t sure why Rex had acted the way he had, why he’d hidden his status for so long. Hiding it from natborns and Kaminoans was one thing. But from <em>him</em>? Cody couldn’t understand why Rex hadn’t trusted him with this.</p><p> </p><p>He squared his shoulders when they entered the Living levels of the ship. Whatever Rex’s reasons were, Cody would make sure they turned out to be unfounded.</p><p> </p><p>Beta or Omega, Rex was <em>his</em>. Just like he was Rex’s.</p><p> </p><p>And Cody wasn’t about to lose him.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Chapter 2</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Rex sees what could have been.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>This takes place after Rex's miscarriage.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Rex was on his way to the QM's office, headed down a rarely used corridor to take the long way around. He liked the quiet of out of the way places and the near scentless walls in them. He’d been out as an Omega for long enough now that most men knew and did make an attempt to at least be aware of their scents when he was around. But there were over 8,000 people on board Skywalker’s flagship at any one time, and more than half of them were Alphas. Even if they were all vigilant one hundred percent of the time, Which was impossible, the buildup of aggressive, young, unmated alphas in the air could get overwhelming. Places like the gym and the mess were the worst, aside from the barracks, and Rex was thankful his rank afforded him private quarters or he would never sleep; but it was much easier to breathe in less used parts of the ship like the corridor that ran from the secondary engine bay to the aft hanger where the QM’s office was located. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">He hadn’t really expected to run across anyone, or if he did it would probably be a couple <em>vode</em> trying to have a private rut without the prying eyes the barracks always brought. So at first he was annoyed at the sound of voices up ahead. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">"No no no, absolutely not, let me call someone! The sergeant! Or Bodi or or..."</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">"No. You can’t tell anyone! You swore!” </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">The voices belonged to clones, young ones, and the amount of panic in them made Rex quicken his steps. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">"What is going on h-" Rex said, rounding the corner and coughed when the wall of spicy warm <em>dangerterrorworry</em> smacked up against his senses. He took a slow breath, breathing through his hind brain reflex to back away, and peered into thesmall, slightly darkened alcove.</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">One of the men was laying half balled up on the floor, sweaty and shaking in just his blacks, the other knelt beside him in only his bottom shell, visibly upset while tending to the other. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">"Captain!" The shelled one yelped, leaping to his feet and snapping a salute. "I...we..."</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">The other clone stiffened as if he wanted to follow his comrades' lead but instead doubled over and pressed his head against the durasteel floor in pain. He groaned and the first clone's nostrils flared, he made an aborted movement toward the injured man. Rex's movements were not aborted and he dropped to his knees, reaching out. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">"What happened? Whats wrong with him?" Rex laid a hand on the kid's head and he immediately curled toward him with a soft whimper he didn't seem to be fully cognizant of. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">The first wasn’t answering, instead looking tense and shifting restlessly. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">"Trooper." Rex snapped. He went to attention again, and Rex fought back his irritation at the default reaction of a Shiny to freeze up and wait for orders instead of the veteran response of assessing a situation and taking the next logical action. He would get there. They all did eventually.</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">"I-I dont know sir. He hasn’t been feeling well and he couldn’t sleep and he was sore so I thought we'd go for a walk and he just...he just..." he waved uselessly toward his incapacitated vod, growing more agitated by the second. "He just collapsed, sir! I dont know!"</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">"Ok, ok. Take a deep breath, Shiny."</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">He did as he was told, but he forgot to breathe through his mouth and his eyes grew slightly hazy. He went to his knees beside Rex, taking his friend's hand into his. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">"Its okay, vod.” He whispered, and Rex watched him try to smile. "The Captain's here. He'll know what to do. You dont need to worry."</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Frustrated, Rex reached up and undid his bucket. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">"What in sith hells-" </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Rex was aware of the thick scent of distressed, protective alpha in the air, the helmet filters did little to block it out. But now he clocked another scent, below it, intermingled, but far less recognizable to Rex's Omega senses. Sweet and soft and <em>familiar</em>. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">He turned wide eyes down to the other clone, still trembling slightly. Grimacing intermittently but otherwise quiet.</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1"><em>Omega</em>. Rex realized, shocked. He hadnt thought any others had made it off Kamino.</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1"><span class="s1">The younger clone was clawing his way more or less up into Rex's lap. He</span> was confused by that for a moment, why was he reaching for another omega instead of the alpha nearby, before he remembered Cody had only left that morning. He and Rex had spent the night and part of the morning in bed together, memorizing skin and scars and scenting one another until they were both late for their shifts.</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Rex had no doubt Cody's scent of strong, experienced, confident Alpha steeped in the afterglow of a lover was more attractive to a young unmated Omega in distress than his scared, uncertain Alpha companion. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Rex started to ask again what the problem was, why his friend was in so much pain when the kid cried out once more, eyes squeezing shut and he gripped his companion's hands for several seconds before letting go, the tension bleeding out of him as the wave passed. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Rex's eyes widened, his gaze drifting lower, to where the clone had a protective hand wrapped around his slightly distended stomach, his entire body curled as if protecting something. <em>Someone</em>. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Rex took another deep breath, through his mouth this time to dampen the scents around him and let his hand card through the other Omega's hair. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">"Alright, name?" He looked at the young Alpha.</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">"Ozone, sir."</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">"Ozone. Go find Kix. He's a medic. Bring him here. Tell him," Rex swallowed, "we have an Omega in labor." </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Ozone lost all the color in his face and his eyes went back to the kid on the floor. He started to move toward him when Rex barked his name. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">"<em>Ozone</em>, go. I don’t want this going out over comms and theres special equipment he'll need. <em>Go</em>."</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">After a few seconds of vicious internal debate, Ozone saluted and moved to stand but Rex stopped him with a word before he could get two steps.</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">"Kix. Alright? No one else."</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Ozone's eyes went to the Omega and then back to his Captain. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">"Yes sir." He hesitated. “Sir?”</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Rex raised his eyebrows in question. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“You’ll stay with him, right?” </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Rex gave him a short nod . “I won’t leave him. He’ll be alright.” </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Ozone nodded and looked at the younger Omega again before disappearing around the corner.</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Rex turned back to the trembling vod in his lap. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">"Whats your name, kid?"</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">The shiny swallowed a few times before succeeding in answering. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">"Rigid, sir."</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Rex sat back from him, temporarily dislodging Rigid as he reached for his armor clips. Immediately the Omega was reaching for him, but Rex couldn’t find the will to be annoyed by the impulse the way he would have been if it had been himself reaching for Cody. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">"Rigid, huh? Why Rigid?" Rex asked, more to keep the kid's mind off the sudden loss of physical contact than anything. He quickly undid the straps on his pauldron and chest plate, followed by his arm guards and gauntlets, setting them all aside in a haphazard pile. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">"Its because I...follow all the regs, sir. Can't...can't afford to make a mistake." He grimaced again and Rex practically leapt forward, gathering Rigid up into his arms. Telling himself the instinct to protect and comfort the man had more to do with wanting to be there for a brother than any camaraderie he felt with a fellow Omega. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">"What am I gonna do? What abut the war? I can't...I wont be able to keep it. Stars, what am I going to do?"</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">"Don’t worry about that now, <em>vod'ika</em>. Right now, worry about you and your <em>ad</em>, alright? Thats your job right now, soldier."</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">He slid to his bottom so he could help Rigid sit, and pulled him so his back was against Rex's front. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">"You follow the regs. Thats good." Rex let the kid grab his hands and folded them around him, doing his best to be a human nest. "Thats safe. You're safe, understand?"</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Rigid made a soft noise and gripped both of hands, his whole body going stiff as a board. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Several seconds later he relaxed again and dropped his head back against Rex's shoulder. At which point, Rex realized, Rigid was sobbing silently.</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">"Rigid? C'mon its alright, everything is going to be alright."</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Rigid shook his head miserably and Rex just tightened his arms. Overwhelmed with something that swelled up from deep within him, Rex pressed his lips to the side of Rigid’s head, continuing to murmur comfort and support as best he could. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">He didn’t think of how close he’d come to being in this vod’s place. He didn’t think of how terrified he’d been when he thought he was going to have a child, nor how devastated he’d been when he realized he wouldn’t.</span>
</p><p class="p1"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">He tried not to think at all.</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">He just kept his eyes closed, arms wrapped around Rigid and helped him ride through the waves of pain until help arrived.</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">"You'll be alright, <em>ad'ika</em>. Everything will be fine. Nothing is going to happen to you. I promise."<br/><br/></span>
</p><hr/><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Two weeks later a young clone in ill-fitting civvies knocked on Cut Lawquane’s door, a recorded holomessage in one hand and a tiny newborn baby swaddled in standard issue Republic blacks in the other.</span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Vode - brothers<br/>Vod’ika -little brother/ fond slang for close brothers<br/>ad/ad’ika - son/daughter</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Chapter 3</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Post Kadavo, a few things come to light and Rex comes to terms with who and what he is.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>This one is heavy, but i swear i’m going to try and make the next one make up for it! </p><p>Also, I can't seem to stop putting Rex into shock heats. But, to be fair, Rex leads a pretty traumatic life.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">There was no ceremony. No grand romantic gesture. It wasnt even a planned heat, when Cody could be sure to have several days in which to pamper and spoil his Omega undeterred in celebration of their bonding. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Instead, they were 27 hours out from Kadavo and it was the first time Cody was allowed to see Rex when he wasn’t unconscious. He'd flown into such a panic the first time he woke up, traumatized and terrified and overwhelmed by the musky scent of a dozen agitated, protective alphas in the room that Kix had been forced to sedate him. The black eye the medic had gotten for his trouble lasted a week.</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">If Rex hated a heat, he hated a shock heat more. It was a reminder that his body and mind could be ripped out of his control by a traumatic enough event, as if his entire life's training meant nothing at all. As if he weren’t coded from the karking <em>tube</em> to deal with stress. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">No, shock heats cared not for convenience and training. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Cody was just glad they ran along the pattern of Rex's usual heats, with bouts of lucidity between rounds of desperate sex. </span>
</p><p class="p1"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">This was a conversation they both needed to be in their right minds to have.</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">"Are you sure about this, <em>cyare</em>?" Cody whispered, his hand cupping gently that spot between Rex's neck and shoulder where his scent gland lay. His mate sat straddling his lap, neck bared wide in a way Cody rarely saw, even in the throws of a heat. The request caught him off guard and he found his gut churning with unease. The one time he’d even sniffed near Rex’s bonding gland he’d ended up on the floor with a bruised jaw, despite the fact Rex had been nearly out of his mind with heat at the time. Now he wanted to be bonded? Just like that? </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Rex just nodded, rutting his hips slightly against Cody's, a little bit desperate and shaky, eyes shut tight. "Yes. Please, Alpha, do it."</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Cody frowned, noting that Rex was working hard to distract him from the conversation. He rarely called him by his designation, but it drove Cody crazy every time. </span>
</p><p class="p1"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">But Cody clamped down hard on his lust and narrowed his eyes. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Rex?” </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">No answer except Rex bending over to start licking and scraping his teeth over his own unscarred scent gland. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“No.” Cody said firmly, grasping Rex’s shoulders pushing him back. “Look at me.” </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Finally, Rex did. HIs lips parted, swollen from so many hours under Cody’s attentions, but his eyes were clear,none of the haze of heat within them. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Your heat broke?” Cody asked, baffled. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Rex nodded minutely. He realized suddenly that he’d been too distracted by Rex’s attentions to notice, but Rex was almost scentless. The way he only was right after a heat when his built up pheromones had been spent and before his body began producing new ones because it realized he wasn’t carrying a kit.</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“How? It’s barely been a day.” </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Rex swallowed, holding himself as still as if he was standing in the middle of a field full of unexploded mines. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“It started in the camp. On Kadavo.” </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Cody frowned, something lurched in his chest at the thought of his mate, his <em>Omega</em>, in the throws of a heat in the middle of a slave camp. He pushed the thought aside as if scalded.</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Why did you let me believe it hadn’t?” It wasn’t as if they were celibate when Rex wasn’t in heat. There was no reason to pretend. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“I needed to feel you.” Rex whispered and it wasn’t just his voice that seemed broken. It was the way he held himself, staring just slightly to Cody’s left, unblinking, unmoving. "And I knew you would want to talk about it." </span>
</p><p class="p1"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Cody shook his head. "So you let me believe you were in heat? Force, Rex you could have just said something. Since when can't you talk to me?" </span>
</p><p class="p1"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Slowly, Rex dragged his eyes to Cody's, the depths of them dark and swirling with emotions Cody wasn't used to seeing in his usually stoic Captain.</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Cody was horrified to realize tears were standing in his eyes. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Rex?” Cody brought both hands up to cup his face. “You’re scaring me. Please tell me what’s going on.” </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Rex dropped his gaze and shifted off Cody's thighs, curling up on the bunk beside him. He pulled a pillow into his lap and hugged it, pressing his back into the corner of the wall. Cody held himself still, only allowing his hand to reach out and rest on Rex's knee as he waited. </span>
</p><p class="p1"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Rex stared blankly at Cody's hand and his stomach flipped threateningly with the thought of the words that were rolling around in his mouth. But if he wanted Cody to acquiesce his request he needed to know. He needed to <em>understand</em>. His mate deserved that much. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“I presented late." He said finally, starting small. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Cody nodded, turning so that he was facing Rex a bit more. “After the explosion on Mygeeto. I remember. I caught you and Skywalker in a storage closet. He thought I was going to kick his <em>shebse</em>.” Cody said, hoping to coax a smile out of the other man. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">It didn’t work. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Rex shook his head. “Thats not when I presented.” He took another deep breath and forced himself to look up at Cody. “It was in the Lego system. I was infiltrating a separatist base with my squad and a team of shadow troopers. We were spotted. Everyone on the team was killed or captured.” Cody’s steady, understanding gaze became too much for him and his nose burned with the Alpha's concern and comfort. He looked down at his lap. “I presented there. My first heat ever.” </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Cody’s mouth dropped open. “What?” He felt itchy under his skin and stood, pacing the length of Rex's tiny room. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Your first heat? Alone? Behind enemy lines?” Cody looked more distraught than Rex felt which was strange because Cody didn’t even know the half of it. Though, judging by the sudden ill look on the Alpha’s face and the flare of anger in the air, he was putting the pieces together quickly. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“There were guards? Non droids.” </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Rex nodded. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“They forced themselves on you.” It wasn’t a question, so Rex didn’t respond. Cody swore and turned to lean his head against the wall, after a moment he brought his hands up to cover his face. Rex stared, unseeing at his back, images flashing through his mind of laughter and rough hands touching, probing, bruising and hot, <em>it was so hot</em>.</span>
</p><p class="p1"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1"> Rex was jerked out of the unpleasant memories when Cody turned suddenly and crashed to his knees on the floor in front of him, gathering Rex’s hands to his chest. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“I’m so sorry. That…is not how that’s supposed to happen.” </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Rex did his best to smile, wishing he could ease the grief on his mate’s face and shrugged. “Its over now.” </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Cody nodded slightly, his eyes searching Rex’s face as if he thought he could see the old hurt there and find a way to soothe it. Hesitantly, he reached up, lifting his palm toward Rex’s cheek. He stopped short of touching. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“May I?” </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Instead of answering Rex tilted his head, pressing the side of his face to Cody’s palm. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“You never have to ask, <em>cyare</em>. Never you.” </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Cody licked his lip and bit them, feeling lost and alone and it wasn’t even him who’d been violated. Rex, young and brash and bold, reduced to base instincts without anyone there to…</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Cody sucked in a breath so fast he nearly choked and his eyes widened. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Kadavo.” </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Rex watched understanding dawn and Codys’ fingers stilled against his cheek. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1"><span class="s1">“Rex…no.” Cody shook his head, shifting imperceptibly closer. He folded Rex's hands into his own and squeezed them to his chest. His heat was over now, even a shock heat usually lasted at least a few days and he’d only been aboard the 104ths cruiser </span> <span class="s1">for one. His eyes burned and his chest ached but he forced the words out anyway. “Rex they didn’t…please tell me they didnt…” </span></p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <em> <span class="s1">I needed to feel you. </span> </em>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <em> <span class="s1">Claim me please Alpha. </span> </em>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1"><em>Alpha!</em> </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1"> Rex’s smile was brittle and he shrugged one shoulder, careful not to dislodge the tears standing in his eyes. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Is it still forcing if you beg them to do it?” Rex asked, hiding behind the lighthearted attempt at a joke Cody heard the shame and self-deprecation, the anger at not being able to resist his own base instinct. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Cody nodded, shaky, tears streaming down his face. “It is if you’re not in your mind, <em>cyare</em>.” He pushed up onto his knees and reached for Rex, who lurched forward into his arms. “<em>Cyare, ner’karta</em> I’m so sorry. <em>Ni ceta,</em> I wasn’t there. I should have been there.” </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Rex didn’t answer, just pressed himself tighter to Cody’s chest and let the Alpha wrap him in strong arms and a musky, wooden scent that reminded Rex of a forest after rain and never failed to relax him. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">They cried together, held each other, until Rex was asleep in his arms. Cody crawled up onto the bed and pulled him to his chest, feeling as if he couldn’t quite get close enough to the Omega. But Cody stayed awake, staring at the ceiling for hours until it was almost time for the Day shift to start. Cody wasn’t on duty, he'd been given leave until they go back to the <em>Negotiator</em> so he could be with Rex during his recovery. </span>
</p><p class="p1"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">So he had no reason to leave off of his dark thoughts, staring at the durasteel above the bunk and gently stroking Rex's back.</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">How could he not have known, not realized? So many things made sense now. Rex’s intense aversion to all things Omega. Why scent blockers were the first piece of his kit he put on the and the last he took off, despite their questioble efficacy. That he didn’t even take them off around Cody for months after he got them. That he only ever asked Cody to top him at the very height of his heats when he’d lost all ability to verbalize and was out of his mind with need. And Cody suddenly felt sick realizing that he probably didn’t want it in those moments either but Cody hadn't know better than to give him what he was begging for.</span>
</p><p class="p1"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Suddenly Cody was so glad they had never bonded. Rex deserved better. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“You have never taken advantage of me.” </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Cody was startled to hear Rex’s voice and looked down to where he was tucked into his side, looking up at him. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Never.” He repeated, determinedly.</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Cody’s mouth was dry. “You’re sure?” </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Rex sat up on his elbow so he could look at him more straight on. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“I wouldn’t want to bond with you if you had.” He paused, his eyes going to the republic insignia on Cody’s blacks for a moment before he drug them back up to his face. “At any point during Kadavo…or in that prison…someone could have bonded me. It’s sheer luck that they didn’t.” </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“I wouldn’t call anything that has happened to you lucky, Rex.” </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Rex just shrugged,. “I guess not. But still. They didn’t, and they could have. And I’d be tied to...one of them...forever.” The thought turned Cody’s stomach to lead, then ice. Rex reached over to take his hand. “Theres only one person I want to be bound to forever. And I won’t let fear put that in jeopardy anymore.” </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Cody shook his head slowly. "Rex, I dont know if I can..." Claiming Rex now...what if this was just a reaction from the trauma? What if it turned out he didn't really want that either. What if Cody couldn't be there for him, protect him, the way an Alpha should?</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">"Cody. I know I've never been a very good Omega..."</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">"Dont. Don't do that."</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Rex looked at him with a small smile that usually lit Cody's chest on fire. He squeezed his hand. </span>
</p><p class="p1"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">"I'm not. I dont rely on you like you want me to. Like <em>I</em> want me to. I can't bring myself to be vulnerable with you most of the time, to let you be the strong Alpha you are." His eyes defocused, looking back through time. "They took that from me. Called me sweet and wet and a thousand other things. They used my heat to make me believe I wanted it. And I was too weak...too <em>Omega</em> to resist them."</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Cody tightened his arm around Rex's waist, pressing the pads of his fingers into his hip.</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">"Come back to me."</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Rex blinked and Cody watched the haze leave his eyes.</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">"But I <em>am</em> an Omega." He continued, after a deep breath. Locking his eyes on Cody's so the man could read the determination in his gaze. "As much as I find it inconvenient and annoying and upsetting...it is what I am. And there are times when I am not in control." He shrugged on shoulder and Cody rubbed soothing circles along the swath of skin where his top rode up.</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">"Cody you want to protect me. And I..." he swallowed, sitting up further. "I want you to protect me. And this is how you can do it. I trust you to do it. I've been forced to do a lot of things in my life. On and off the battlefield. Please...dont let this be one if them."</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Cody stared, disbeleiving. Rex, his Omega. His headstrong, self-sufficient, independent, Omega. Who never asked for anything. Asking for this. Maybe the most important thing that an Omega could ask of an Alpha. That he Claim him. Bond him. Forever. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Cody had been field promoted four times and recieved seven medals for distinguished service. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">And he had never been so humbled. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Overwhelmed, Cody flipped them over, trapping Rex beneath him and kissing him desperately. Until Rex interrupted with a laugh. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">"I'll take that as a 'yes'?"</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Cody smiled, pressing the length of his body along Rex's and resting his forehead against his shoulder.</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">"Yes. If you'll have me, I would be honored."</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Rex laughed and pulled his mate close. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><hr/><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">A few hours later, the ship hummed around them in the dead of night and Rex stared silent into the darkness. Curled up behind him, Cody had his knees tucked in behind Rex's and was pressing soft kisses and teasing licks to his still sore, bitten scent gland. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">"Are you not tired, cyare?" His voice rasped and he dragged a rough palm from Rex's hip, all the way up his side and down his arm and back again.</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Rex sighed deeply. They'd already had one difficult conversation. What was one more?</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">"Do you ever think about our kit?"</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Cody froze instantly and Rex felt him shift, wrapping his arms around him and tucking his chin over his shoulder. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">"Yes." He said simply. "You?"</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Rex swallowed and nodded. "All the time." He shook his head slightly and his eyebrows drew together. "How can you miss someone you've never met?"</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Cody let out a long breath, warm air ghosting across Rex's skin as he tilted his head to kiss Rex's cheek. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">"Because they're a part of you."</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Rex shifted and turned so he was laying on his back, Cody propped himself up on his elbow to look down at him, rubbing circles across his hard stomach. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">What would Rex look like, Cody wondered. Soft and full. Would he find him more attractive than he found the sharp planes of muscle now? The thought flickered into his mind unbidden, like an annoying flying instinct, and Cody batted it away just as easily. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">He leaned down to kiss the scent gland again. It would be a scar within a few days, and then everyone would know Rex was his. </span>
  <span class="s1">Cody had promised Rex once he would happily accept whatever Rex gave him. And that was true now more than ever.</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">"There was a shiny," Rex said, and Cody pulled back to look at him. "His name was Rigid. He...he was an Omega." Rex swallowed and Cody's hand stilled. "I found him in the lower decks. He was in labor. Delivered a healthy baby boy." </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">"What happened to him?"</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Rex glanced at him and then away. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">"I made certain arrangements. Rigid is listed as MIA. And Cut Lawquane's younger cousin recently moved to his farm to help with the Eopies and raise his son."</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Cody held himself very still and took a second to be mindful of his scent. He wasnt angry, but his knee jerk reaction was close to it. He knew about Cut, Rex had told him as soon as they'd had a private moment for Cody to put his hands on his mate and see for himself that he was alive. And wasn't upset over the man deserting his duty, his first duty was to his brothers and he couldn't, wouldn't, fault them for wanting to live their own lives. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">He wasn't even upset with Rex for helping a soldier to desert because he wasn't surprised, after Cut Rex had lost a lot of the rigidity he previously held for regulations of that kind. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">But allowing a desertion to happen and activly participating in one were two very different things. They were the difference between demotion and reassignment and reconditioning. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Literally life and death. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Cody's fingers pressed into Rex's side. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">"Does anyone else know?"</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">"Kix," Rex answered, "and several brothers helped him get out but I tried to make sure none of them knew exactly what was going on."</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Cody nodded, trying to keep his breathing even. He could trust Kix.</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">"That was dangerous Rex. If anyone found out what you'd done..."</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">"I couldnt let them be seperated." He looked Cody in the eye. "It would have killed him. I know it would have."</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Cody sighed and nodded. Rex turned to look back at the ceiling.</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">"I realized after...it wouldn't have worked for me. No one notices if a shiny goes missing. But a Captain? General Skywalker's right hand?" Rex shook his head. "We would have had to give them up. If Cut couldn't take them then an orphanage or refugee camp or..." Rex shook his head, his voice cracking and tears sprang up to sting the corners of his eyes. "Maybe what happened was for the best."</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Cody reached up to stroke a hand through the blond bristles of Rex's hair, his thumb brushing along the temple where a tear was sliding toward his ear.</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Cody couldn't heal this pain, and the irony of that after bonding with the Omega, thereby promising to protect and care for him, was not lost on the Commander. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">"After the war," he said after several seconds of silence, "we can try. If you want to." </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Rex bit his lip. "I dont know."</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">"Thats okay." Cody assured him, coaxing Rex over to his side so he could wrap his body around him. "We don't have to decide now. Lets just get some sleep, yeah?" </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Rex shuffled and shimmied until he was turned over on his opposite side and curled up facing Cody's chest. Once he was settled Cody wrapped his arms around him again.</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">"Thank you." Rex whispered, barely breaking through the silence. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">"For what <em>ner'karta</em>?"</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">"For always being what I didn't know I needed."</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Cody smiled, pressing a kiss to Rex's temple and settling down to sleep. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">"Thank you for letting me, Rex."</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Rex stared stayed awake a while longer, staring at the space between their bodies and letting Cody's sleep soft scent fill his senses. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">After the war. He could decide. He could figure out what it was he wanted. He could figure out what kind of Omega he was meant to be. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">When things weren't confusing and dangerous and uncertain all the time.</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Maybe then he could have what he'd made sure Rigid was given. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">A chance. A choice. A new beginning. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <em>
    <span class="s1">After the war. </span>
  </em>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Rex nodded to himself, and drifted off to sleep. </span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Thank you so much for the kind words and support!! They mean the world to me!!</p><p>shebse - ass<br/>cyare - beloved<br/>ner'karta - my heart<br/>ni ceta - groveling apology, lit: I kneel</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. Chapter 4</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>After the war...Cody and Rex get a chance and a choice. </p>
<p>And a new beginning.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Me: Cody and Rex deserve an ad. </p>
<p>My brain at 3am: But if two clones conceive a child doesn’t that make the child also a clone because they both have the same DNA?? </p>
<p>Me: DO NOT BOTHER ME WITH TRIFLES </p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Cody preferred it slow. He liked to take his time, enjoying the feeling of Rex’s body beneath his own. The way his skin twitched at Cody’s touch, his breath caught when Cody rocked just so. He would spend all day worshipping his body if Rex let him.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>But Rex rarely did. If he wasn't in heat, he didn’t like to sit still, even for Cody. He was always thought there was something he should be doing, always planning his next move, his next task.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Sometimes, though, if Cody was careful and attentive, he could get Rex to melt under his hands, sigh and relax and let Cody pretend tomorrow would never come.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Tonight was one of those nights.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Rex was warm and soft and pliant under his hands, sighing softly in his ear as Cody murmured whatever came to his mind, in whatever language felt right.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>That is, until a tiny cry rang out through the silence and Cody groaned, dropping his head to Rex’s shoulder. Beneath him, Rex’s chest rumbled with laughter.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Your daughter has terrible timing.” Cody muttered against Rex’s skin, relishing in the feeling of his hands as they soothed apologetic circles on his back.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“She gets it from you.”<span class="Apple-converted-space"> Rex grumbled back, clearly restringing himself from laughing.</span></p>
<p> </p>
<p>Cody groaned again and Rex gave him a little pat of sympathy.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“I think she’s hungry. Go get her for me?”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>With a deep sigh Cody nodded, rolling off the bed and Rex immediately set to rearranging the pillows and straightening the blankets in their nest, making himself comfortable.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Cody walked across the hall of their ship, an old freighter that held around 100 men comfortably, to his daughter’s room. After the end of the war and Palpatine’s death (Cody was still fuzzy on the details because apparently the man was some kind of previously thought to be extinct, honest to Stars <em>Sith</em>) many <em>vode</em> had elected to stay with the Jedi and join the relief effort to try and help heal the scars the intergalactic war had left behind.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Some had settled down with mates they’d found and homes they’d made, against all odds, on other planets. And some, many, like Cody and Rex, had procured old, largely inoperable ships. They’d gotten them towed to this uninhabited planet on the edge of Wild Space and they were serving as dwellings, and something of a home base, while they figured out something more permanent.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Cody walked across the small bunk room, the walls and ceiling draped in soft textiles and warm light to try and make it more comfortable and peeked into the crib.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“What’s wrong Mesh’la?” He asked, quietly gathering the tiny child into his arms. “What is it my beautiful girl?”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>At the sound of her father’s voice Mesh’la opened her eyes slightly, her chin quivering and she curled in toward his chest, mouth open and searching.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Cody chuckled, stroking her cheek with a finger.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“I’m afraid I haven’t anything for you. Lets get you to your <em>buir</em>, yeah?”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Cody bounced the tiny baby slightly and made his way back across the hall.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>This was one thing they’d rarely spoken of after losing the first (Rex said their name everynight, someday he would work up the courage to ask Cody if he did the same) but now they couldn’t imagine their life without their daughter. Rex and Cody, from a family of a million brothers, floundered at first when she came along.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>A <em>girl</em>. So like them, and also so <em>unlike</em> them. The same dark hair and eyes and a smile they'd seen on a thousand faces.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>But so very different too.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Delicate and perfect and tiny and in desperate need of protection.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>When Mesh’la was born it was as if Rex’s worries and doubts over his status disappeared overnight.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>It wasn’t perfect, or without it’s perils, but Cody couldn’t imagine being happier.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> And the Omega had never seemed so serene.</span></p>
<p> </p>
<p>Back in his and Rex’s room, his mate smiled brightly on seeing him and reached out to take their daughter. Mesh'la fussed lightly as they transferred her from one man's arms to the other, but quieted immediately when Rex held her close.</p>
<p> </p>
<p><em>“Copaanir kai'tome, ner’ad?”</em> Rex cooed, smiling down at the child. Cody leaned over the girl bundled up in Rex’s arms to press a kiss to his mate's forehead.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“I’m gonna use the 'fresher.” He muttered. Rex hummed in response, and smiled but didn’t look up.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>By the time Cody returned Mesh’la was satisfied and sleeping again, curled up on her father’s bare chest. Cody stopped and leaned against the bulkhead opening, watching the pair in bed. Rex had his arms folded to hold the baby close and secure, his head tipped back as if he’d nodded off mid-feeding. It wouldn’t have been the first time.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Cody lingered, soaking up the moment and the mellow, contented sweetness in the air and smiled softly to himself. If Cody had ever dared to dream, he would not have been able to imagine a happier scene.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>How much pain had they been through? How much heartache, how many tears…all to end up with this?</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Freedom for his brothers. Peace for the Jedi. Safety for his Omega.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>And a family for himself.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span class="Apple-converted-space">Cody wouldn't go so far as to say it had been worth it, but he certainly couldn't bear the thought of changing a thing about it.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Rex stirred, feeling eyes on him and blinked, spotting Cody on the other side of the room.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“What are you doing over there?”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Cody shrugged, pushing off the wall and coming to slide under the covers on their double-width bunk.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Thinking.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“About?”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“How good things are. How perfect you are... <em>mesh’la.</em>”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Rex quirked a teasing eyebrow.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“I think you mean, 'Rex'.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“I said what I meant.” Cody brought a hand up to trace the planes of Rex’s face and nose. He ran a finger gently under his eyelashes and down his jaw, before resting his hand on his neck to stroke his thumb over Rex’s scarred mating gland. “She is Mesh’la. But so are you.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Rex rolled his eyes fondly. “You already have me in your bed. You don’t have to keep using your lines on me.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Cody smiled and Rex reflexively inhaled deep at the scent of Pleased Alpha that flooded the air around them, it was woody and clean, wound with the musky scent of protectiveness that always colored Cody's scent and made goosebumps run down Rex's spine.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“<em>Ner</em> <em>Mesh’la</em> Omega.” Cody insisted quietly, shifting to lie down and bringing Rex with him.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Rex smiled, allowing himself to be manhandled and the two curled protectively around their daughter and each other.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span class="Apple-converted-space">Cody's smile had shifted from dreamy and soft to more pinpointed, his eyes narrowing and crinkling at the edges as he grinned. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span class="Apple-converted-space">"What?" Rex asked again, though Cody's smile was infectious and Rex found himself returning it. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span class="Apple-converted-space">"You never used to let me call you that. My Omega." </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span class="Apple-converted-space">"No. I didn't." </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span class="Apple-converted-space">"What changed?" Cody moved his hand from Rex's neck to Mesh'la's head and she shuffled in her sleep, gurgling quietly.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span class="Apple-converted-space">"I did." Rex said, after a moment, "I realized there was nothing to be afraid of. Not with you. I'm happier... I feel safer... with you as my Alpha, when I acknowledge you're a part of me, than I do when I pretend you're not." Rex's smile turned playful. "And...we make beautiful babies."</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span class="Apple-converted-space">Cody looked down at their daughter, all tan skin and dark eyelashes and round round cheeks. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span class="Apple-converted-space">He smiled up at Rex. "That we do." </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span class="Apple-converted-space">Cody settled down to go to sleep, throwing a protective arm across both Rex and Mesh'la, making a show of getting comfortable and ignoring Rex's raised eyebrow.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span class="Apple-converted-space">"You're not thinking of letting her stay." </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span class="Apple-converted-space">"Of course not." Cody answered immediately without opening his eyes, his tone saying that was <em>precisely</em> what he planned to do.  </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span class="Apple-converted-space">Rex huffed in annoyance, but his scent was soft and sweet. Cody smiled. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“She’s going to have to learn to sleep in her own bed someday, you know.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Mhm.” Cody nodded, pressing a kiss to the child’s soft dark curls. “But not tonight.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Rex shook his head and got comfortable on his side, curled around Mesh'la and toward Cody. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>“No. Not tonight. <em>Ca’jate…ner’alpha.”</em></p>
<p> </p>
<p>Cody’s heart skipped, the way it always did when Rex called him that, and he squeezed we’re he had his hand wrapped around Rex’s elbow.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>“Vercopa jatne. Ner’omega.”</em>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Thank you to everyone who supported this series!! I hope this ending is the fluff you were needing after all that angst!!</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Mando'a: </p>
<p>Mesh’la - beautiful</p>
<p>Copaanir kai'tome, ner’ad? - are you hungry, my daughter?</p>
<p>ca’jate - goodnight (author derived)</p>
<p>Vercopa jatne - dream good (sweet dreams)</p>
<p>Ner - my </p>
        </blockquote><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>I always enjoy hearing your thoughts!</p></blockquote></div></div>
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